digital+divide

The digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalance both in physical access to technology and the resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. Knowledge divide reflects the access of various social groupings to information and knowledge, typically gender, income, race, and by location.[1] The term global digital divide refers to differences in access between countries.

All kinds of studies and approaches to the digital divide can be classified into these four categories[|[][|15][|]]:
 * WHO (level of analysis): individuals vs. organizations/communities, vs. societies/countries/ world regions;
 * with WHICH characteristics (attributes of nodes and ties): income, education, geography, age, gender, or type of ownership, size, profitability, sector, etc.;
 * connects HOW (level digital sophistication): access vs. usage vs. impact;
 * to WHAT (type of technology): phone, Internet, computer, digital TV, etc.

More broadly, the [|global digital divide] describes the Infotech disparities between different regions of the world in relation to generalised rates of social and technological development,

One school of thought holds that, as the internet becomes progressively more sophisticated, the digital divide is growing, that those to whom it is least available are being left behind.

Overcoming the digital divide depends on the chosen definition of the term.

The first step, which includes providing access, meets significant challenges from income restrictions. A possible alternative to balance the purchasing power of these segments is to offer direct or indirect subsidies.

In //Digital Nation//, Anthony G. Wilhelm calls on politicians to develop a national ICT agenda.[|[][|13][|]] Mehra and others say researchers in the field should //try to better understand the lifestyle of the minority or marginalized community,what is meaningful to them, and how they use (or do not use) different forms of the Internet for meeting their objectives//,[|[][|52][|]] further stating, there is //a need for a re-examination of questions based on traditional ways of looking at people, their social dynamics, and their interactions with technology//.[|[][|52][|]]

One of the main challenge in overcoming the digital divide is to widen the influence of the respective policies from those carried out by telecommunications authority, to the entire public sector.

The existence of a digital divide is not universally recognized. Compaine (2001) argues it is a //perceived// gap. Technology gaps are relatively transient; hence the digital divide should soon disappear in any case. The knowledge of computers will become less important as they get smarter and easier to use. In the future people will not need high-tech skills to access the Internet and participate in [|e-commerce] or [|e-democracy].